The Sunday Times Rich List 2011

The richest people in Britain have seen their fortunes soar by a fifth in the past year even as much of the UK is struggling to recover from the recession.

The 2011 Sunday Times Rich List, published this weekend, reveals that the 1,000 wealthiest people in the country are now worth a combined £395.8 billion, equivalent to more than a third of the national debt.

The number of billionaires has risen from 53 to 73, while nine people have seen their fortunes rise by £1 billion or more during the past 12 months alone.

The soaring fortunes of Britain’s wealthiest men and women have put them within striking distance of the pre-recession boom in 2008, when there were 75 billionaires and the 1,000 wealthiest people were worth £413 billion.